A friend of mine recently took his first tour of Israel; he
works for a national ministry. I won’t give details, so as to avoid identifying
him, but suffice to say he had a typical Christian reaction, at least in certain
circles: the Israelis aren’t very friendly (but the Arabs are!); their weird
customs (Sabbath) are sometimes hard to deal with because the country
effectively shuts down every week for 24 hours; Israelis don’t respond well to
the Gospel. Et cetera.

It’s frustrating to me, listening to the stereotypical
complaints about Jews. I’m dumbfounded that more people don’t understand the
prophetic significance of the Jews and Israel. I understand the reasons why, but
it’s still extraordinary that so many Christian ministries “have a problem” with
Israel.

The reasons are varied. People who have mainline roots,
say, Lutherans, have carried Martin Luther’s nasty dislike of Jews to the
present day. Catholics generally subscribe to Replacement Theology (which Chuck
Missler has identified as the biggest problem in the Church today; I don’t know
that I disagree with him). The most disturbing development is the shift in
support within evangelical circles. This is due in large part to the propaganda
put out by the Emergent Community that Bible prophecy followers follow the
“eschatology of abandonment.”

Preterism has also made enough inroads to cause problems.

Add to that the ultra-strange, supernatural general dislike
of Jews among Christians…and you have a recipe for trouble.

Not only should we not cave-in to the prevailing wisdom
that Israel should abandon the “settlements” in the “West Bank” — we should
firmly embrace those Jewish communities and point out the obvious fulfillment of
predictive prophecy they represent.

Have you ever stood up to a bully? More often than not,
that bully will back down. That is exactly how we should meet the criticisms
against Israel…from our brethren.

Here is a major argument some Christians use against
Israel: They don’t accept Jesus!

I’m not arguing that that’s good. What I am saying is, if
the Bible is true, what would you expect Israelis to do right now about Jesus?
Did not God Himself say numerous times that He has blinded them spiritually, for
His own purposes, and at the time of His choosing, they will turn to him? Read
Ezekiel 37. Read Isaiah. Read Jeremiah.

The Jews are exactly where they’re supposed to be.

A lot of Christians have a problem with that. Yet, if the
Bible is true, where would you expect them to be? In their own land, in general
unbelief, but ripe for belief.

Then, look at the geopolitical situation. New Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman is hated around the world because he says things the
Peace Now crowd doesn’t like. Jerusalem is becoming more and more heated. If the
Israelis decide they cannot risk a nuclear Iran — and they can’t — and decide to
strike, what do you think the world will do? And there are now more than a
quarter-million Jews in 200 communities in the biblical heartland. Don’t you
think everyone from the Chinese to Barack Obama hates the fact?

All these things are startling proof that the Bible is
true. Yet many of our Christian brethren won’t see it. Notice I stated “won’t.”
It’s not that they can’t see it. They simply have an anti-Jew bias. And their
bias feeds the biases and agendas of Israel’s sworn enemies.

And there are plenty of reasons to support the Jews. For
every complaint about their alleged greed, unfriendliness, or stubbornness (are
these traits unique to Jews, anyway?), I think about the marvellous attributes
they possess.

At Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, there is a
planted forest dedicated to the “Righteous Gentiles,” those who helped save Jews
during that terrible decade of Hitler.

There are a thousand reasons to embrace the Jews and
Israel. Simply put, they are our friends and the Arabs are our enemies.

We live in a world in which Israel is condemned by the U.N.
Security Council, populated by the world’s most brutal dictators. The current
Israeli prime minister is so hated, he makes George W. Bush look like Chris
Matthews’ best friend. At the time of this writing, Fatah, the allegedly
moderate Palestinian faction, is planning and carrying out terror attacks
against Israelis, yet they are hailed by international diplomats as peace
partners. Even Hamas — and this is predictable — is being
given legitimacy in international circles.

This is madness and great evil.

Would that at least our Christian brothers and sisters who
fall for Arab propaganda be able to see the situation for what it is.

Because, no, the Arabs aren’t truly friendly. Perhaps my
friend can use the next Sabbath to reflect on this.